CoreWeave Secures $642 Million Investment to Propel AI Cloud Computing
In Brief
CoreWeave closed a $642 million investment round to expand its cloud computing capabilities for generative AI and drug discovery.
GPU cloud computing platform CoreWeave closed a $642 million investment led by Fidelity Management & Research Company, with additional participation from Investment Management Corporation of Ontario, Jane Street, J. P. Morgan Asset Management, former GitHub Chief Executive Officer Nat Friedman, Goanna Capital and Zoom Ventures among others.
Chip manufacturing giant Nvidia supplies chips to CoreWeave, currently being utilized in its data centers.
Founded in 2017, CoreWeave provides cloud computing infrastructure, employing methodology hardware engineering and a proprietary software stack tailored for generative AI and drug discovery.
CoreWeave has garnered attention by offering Nvidia GPUs over the cloud, which are in high demand among generative AI startups. This addresses a challenge faced by startups, specifically the substantial need for computing power required to run large language models.
Among the company’s clients are several large language model providers such as Inflection and Mistral.
“CoreWeave is solving critical issues by integrating the most performant and flexible GPU, networking and storage technologies into the most differentiated AI infrastructure available today,” said Michael Intrator, Chief Executive Officer at CoreWeave.
In April, the startup raised a $221 million Series B led by Magnetar Capital with backing from investors including Nvidia. Subsequently, Magnetar extended the Series B with $200 million in May. That round valued CoreWeave at $2.5 billion. The new minority stake sale brought the company’s valuation to $7 billion.
Custom Chipsets Chart the Course for AI Computing
Apart from CoreWeave, there are several startups actively addressing the AI computing challenge by pursuing the development of their own AI-specific chipsets.
These companies are exploring alternative solutions to enhance the efficiency and capabilities of artificial intelligence computing, diverging from the conventional approach of relying on existing hardware options.
OpenAI has reportedly been involved in the development of computing hardware and, in 2019, entered a deal to acquire chips from Rain for $51 million.
Recently, OpenAI signed a letter of intent to utilize this sum for chip startup Rain AI when the chips become available. San Francisco-based Rain specializes in chips that imitate brain functionality, with a focus on creating “cost and energy-efficient hardware” for AI companies.
Likewise, Microsoft in an effort to compete with Nvidia, recently announced two AI-centric chips that it plans to begin shipping and implementing in 2024.
CoreWeave’s $642 million investment, against the backdrop of OpenAI and Microsoft’s plans for AI-centric chips, marks a dynamic shift in the AI computing landscape.
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Alisa is a reporter for the Metaverse Post. She focuses on investments, AI, metaverse, and everything related to Web3. Alisa has a degree in Business of Art and expertise in Art & Tech. She has developed her passion for journalism through writing for VCs, notable crypto projects, and scientific writing. You can contact her at alisa@mpost.io
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Alisa is a reporter for the Metaverse Post. She focuses on investments, AI, metaverse, and everything related to Web3. Alisa has a degree in Business of Art and expertise in Art & Tech. She has developed her passion for journalism through writing for VCs, notable crypto projects, and scientific writing. You can contact her at alisa@mpost.io
